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Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189-1194) was an attempt by King Richard the Lionheart of England, King Philip Augustus of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire to reclaim lands in the Holy Lands that were conquered by the Muslim Ayyubid Caliphate under Saladin. The "Crusade of Kings" devolved into a struggle between Richard and Saladin, as Barbarossa drowned while crossing the Saleph River in Turkey and Philip Augustus returned home to put down unrest in France. Richard and Saladin fought a decisive battle at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191, which resulted in a victory for the English over the Saracens. The victory allowed the Christians to reclaim most of their lost lands and beyond, although Jerusalem remained in Saracen hands after the 1192 peace treaty. Background From 1174 to 1189, the Ayyubid Caliphate of Egypt under Sultan Salah ad-Din began a campaign to take over the lands of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the small Seljuk sultanates in Syria. Salah ad-Din, known to Westerners as "Saladin", was an ambitious religious warrior who was also known for his chivalry. Saladin was able to amass a large army of followers dedicated to his service. Saladin was aided in his conquest of the Middle East by Kilij Arslan II of the Sultanate of Rum, but he planned to form a pan-Islamic Ummah and take over the lands of the dying Seljuk Empire. Saladin and his army prepared a vast campaign to conquer the holy city of Jerusalem and oust the Christian crusaders from the Muslim-held Holy Lands. Saladin's army was able to capture the city of Ascalon in southern Jerusalem in the 1170s, and a jihad was called against the city of Kerak. Al-Mustansir of Damanhur led the advance and conquered Kerak, and the Muslims were able to take over much of their lands. However, the Kingdom of Jerusalem succeeded in taking over the cities of Damascus, Homs, and Banyas from the Seljuk rebels, and they allied with the Principality of Antioch against the Saracen invaders. The armies of Saladin advanced into the lands of Jerusalem in the 1180s after the death of the powerful King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and the Jerusalemites were defeated for a final time at the 1187 battle of Hattin by Saladin's army. The Saracen army was able to occupy the city of Jerusalem in 1189, and the Jerusalemites fled to the city of Tyre, their last stronghold. In Europe, the Christian world pledged their support to the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Antioch and King Richard the Lionheart of England and Philip Augustus of France formed an alliance to take over the Holy Lands. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire led an army through Asia Minor to support the crusade, heeding Pope Urban's call for a crusade against the Saracens. While crossing the Saleph River in Turkey, Barbarossa drowned while bathing in the water. However, Richard and Philip traveled with their armies by sea. In 1191, the crusaders captured Cyprus from the Cypriot rebels and established the Templar Order's control of the island, followed by rule by the Kingdom of Cyprus. The English under Richard landed to the south of the Jerusalemite capital of Tyre on the coast of Lebanon, while the French under Philip Augustus landed on the shoreline to the west of the Krak des Chevaliers in Syria. War At the start of the conflict, the city of Acre was put under siege by the 25,000-strong crusader army of Richard the Lionheart, Philip Augustus, Guy de Lusignan, Gerard de Ridefort, Balian of Ibelin, Depolt II of Bohemia, Frederick VI of Swabia, and Leopold V of Austria. The 6,000-strong Ayyubid garrison of Emir Mojili, Aibek al-Akhresh, Ibn al-Bessarau, and Imad ed-Din Sinjari attempted to hold out, but Mojili, Aibek, and al-Bessarau (along with many other generals) were killed. Even King Richard fell ill, but the courteous Saladin sent him medicine to recover. However, the two sides were still rivals on the battlefield, and Saladin decided to end the battle. With 8,000 troops, Saladin marched to relieve the city, but in July 1191 he was defeated by the crusader army and was forced to retreat. Acre fell to the crusaders, and the Teutonic Order and Knights Hospitaller occupied the city. Grand Masters Meister Sibrand and Garnier de Naplouse and their orders (in respective order) ruled the city with an iron fist, and kept its docks in the control of their orders. As Richard encamped at Acre, Saladin decided to muster up an army to gather support for a counterattack against the Crusaders. The Templars under Grand Master Robert de Sable tried to lay siege to the Hashshashin (a group of killers from the Alborz Mountains, also known as the "Assassins") city of Masyaf, but the Assassins were able to cut loose several logs and crush many Templar troops to death. Sable ordered his men to retreat, and the Hashshashin recovered from this brief siege. The kings soon ran into trouble as well. In Acre, the Hashshashin assassinated Garnier de Naplouse and Meister Sibrand, two of Richard's major commanders. However, this was because Naplouse was abusive towards his patients in the Hospitallers' hospital there, and Sibrand had the port blockaded and killed a priest because he believed that he was an Assassin (Sibrand was paranoid after the deaths of Naplouse and other major Middle Eastern figures at the hands of Assassins in 1191). At the same time, as Richard the Lionheart planned to leave Acre with his crusading army, he argued with Marquess William V of Montferrat, one of his commanders who sought to place his son Conrad on the throne of Jerusalem instead of Richard. Also, William had many Saracen prisoners executed, angering Saladin, as Richard had promised to release them for ransom or a prisoner exchange. Richard left the city with his army to go on campaign against the Saracens, leaving William in command at the citadel. There, William was murdered by the Hashshashin, and his son was killed later that year, hired by other crusaders. On 7 September 1191, the decisive battle of the war was fought. King Richard and his army of 20,000 English, French, Jerusalemite, Templar, and Hospitaller troops engaged 25,000 Ayyubid troops under Saladin at Arsuf (near modern Tel Aviv, Israel). Richard's cavalry rode down the clustered Ayyubid troops and dismounted light cavalry archers, who felt the full effect of the charge. Despite his great command skills, Saladin suffered a great defeat. Richard lost 700 men, while 7,000 Ayyubid troops were killed in the battle. However, Richard's army was war-weary and did not go on to besiege Jerusalem. Robert de Sable was killed in the battle in a duel with Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, a member of the Hashshashin, who set out to end his Templar plots to take over the Levant. With the victory at Arsuf, Richard decided to return to Acre to re-supply his army. Philip Augustus left for France to put down civil unrest caused by his absence, and the English army soon negotiated a truce with Saladin. Saladin agreed to give back the cities of Jaffa, Tyre, Acre, and other coastal cities to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although Jerusalem remained in Saracen hands. Jerusalem, however, was open to unarmed Christian and Muslim pilgrims, and a six years' truce was signed. However, the war did not end on all fronts, with a few final battles. Since 1180, the Jerusalemites had been campaigning in Egypt in hopes of taking over the vital Egyptian port cities to cut off Egypt's trade. In 1194, Stephen Terrett and his Jerusalemite army of 287 troops captured the city of Tanta from Zein and 631 Ayyubid troops, killing 373 Ayyubids with 24 losses. Soon after, the Ayyubids and Jerusalemites agreed to a truce. Aftermath The Kingdom of Jerusalem reclaimed almost all of their lands from the Ayyubids, while the Ayyubids retained their desired city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was reclaimed in 1217 through peaceful means in a nonviolent Fifth Crusade, although future attempts by crusaders to take the city failed. In 1251, the Mamelukes ended the Ayyubid Caliphate and Baybars conquered most of the Crusader States by his death in 1277. In 1291, a hundred years after the Battle of Arsuf, the Mamelukes conquered Acre from the Jerusalemites and ended the Crusades. Gallery Richard Third Crusade.png|Richard the Lionheart in Acre, 1191 Philip Augustus Krak.png|Philip Augustus at the Krak des Chevaliers in 1191 Category:Wars Category:Crusades